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Sunday, 27 November 2016

Strictly Come Dancing Week 10 (spoiler alert)

So the celebs are home from Blackpool minus my beloved Greg *sob*(I’m over it, honestly) and back in training for a new week and a new challenge. Not only do they have to perform a new dance as usual but they are all competing in the first ever Cha Cha Challenge. And I will explain more about this later for those who don’t know how these challenges work. But for now let’s take a look at each celebs dance for this week.

First up was Danny Mac and he was dancing the Samba. Usually the Samba brings to mind images of a Rio Carnival or a tropical limbo. This week Oti channelled the origins of the Samba back to its roots in African tribal religions and came up with something absolutely unique and sensational. The routine was imaginative and very energetic and Danny’s moves were out of this world, no wonder he made history by scoring another perfect 40, therefore being the first ever celebrity to score top marks for a Samba ever!!

Second onto the dance floor was Ore Oduba who was dancing a Paso Doble. We all know how smiley Ore is so channelling the aggression and fierceness of the Paso would be a new direction for him. He did it beautifully, instead of a traditional flamenco style Paso, it was a modern and fresh routine but keeping all the elements of the Paso and making it dark and intense and very dynamic. A very positive performance.Next up was Louise and she is definitely my vote for the winner of the series. She and Kevin were dancing the Viennese Waltz this week and she was absolutely beautiful. It was incredibly graceful and elegant, however I did detect the slightest of lifts which is not permitted in a Viennese Waltz, however Louise is always a joy to watch.

Judge Rinder was next to perform and he was dancing the Rumba and as we know it is a difficult dance for a man to perform. I like Judge Rinder, I find him extremely entertaining and he has genuinely been improving week after week. However this week it wasn’t his night, the moves looked jumpy and he seemed to be a little hesitant and unsure of himself. It definitely wasn’t one of his best dances and with the standard of the competition at this level I fear for his survival this week.

Next we come to Ed Balls. I still don’t believe he is still here but the man is dividing the nation with just as many people cheering him on as there are those wanting him out. He was dancing a Tango this week to Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones and he was supposed to be a male model on the catwalk. He is camp, over the top and puts more into the comedy value than he does the dance steps. I’m still not impressed and want him out.

The final contestant up was the sweet little Claudia. She was dancing the Argentine Tango and was simply amazing. I really can’t understand how she didn’t score any tens this week, her dance was beautiful, precise and dramatic. She even held her cheeky smile back to maintain the moody and sultry element this dance requires. And given that her partner AJ hadn’t danced this particular dance before either, I thought it was a stunning achievement.

So once all the celebs had done their individual dances the leaderboard looked like this.

Danny Mac & Oti Mabuse 40

Louise Redknapp & Kevin Clifton 39

Ore Oduba & Joanne Clifton 36

Claudia Fragapane & AJ Pritchard36

Judge Rinder & Oksana Platero29

Ed Balls & Katya Jones23

However next we come to the Cha Cha Challenge. In the challenge, all couples take to the dance floor and dance a Cha Cha Cha. They all keep dancing until the music stops and the judges then decide who is the best and award points accordingly. The best dancers receive 6 points and the worst just 1 point. This is then added to the judges scores and has the potential to change the look of the leaderboard. All dancers danced their little hearts out, changing places halfway through so the judges got to watch all six dancers equally clearly.

The challenge was won by Louise Redknapp, followed by Danny, Ore, Claudia, Judge Rinder and Ed in descending order. So following the challenge the leaderboard had the same order but had Louise now as joint leader with Danny, and Ore no longer tying with Claudia but in clear third place. The leaderboard looked like this going into the public vote.

Danny Mac & Oti Mabuse 45

Louise Redknapp & Kevin Clifton 45

Ore Oduba & Joanne Clifton 40

Claudia Fragapane & AJ Pritchard39

Judge Rinder & Oksana Platero31

Ed Balls & Katya Jones24

So after a night of wonderful dances and Ed Balls as well, it’s all down to the votes.

On to Sunday night and a really entertaining opening dance by the pros, a sports themed Charleston and extremely good fun. There was a performance from Ellie Goulding but she was outshone by the dance routine accompanying it from Kevin and Karen Clifton, such a beautiful dance couple.

The dance off was between Judge Rinder and Ed Balls this week. Holding my breath as they both danced again and quite rightly and at long long last, ED BALLS IS OUT!!!! He just didn’t have enough in him to be saved by the judges and with Judge Rinder performing the Rumba better the second time round, it was Mr Balls calling ‘Taxi!’

Now the real fun starts with proper dancers left, so I predict tears and tantrums along the way.